A man was arrested on Saturday for stealing three pieces of gold jewellery from a jewellery shop in Travessa dos Cavaleiros in Iao Hon district, according to Judiciary Police (PJ) statement on Saturday.
The 46-year-old male suspect surnamed Ou who holds an Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macau (colloquially known as a Two-Way Permit), told the police that he is jobless.
According to the statement, Ou, pretending to be a customer, went into the jewellery shop at about 10 a.m. on Saturday. He told a sales assistant that he wanted to buy some gold jewellery in preparation for his daughter’s wedding. He chose two gold bracelets with a dragon and phoenix design as well as a gold chain, weighing about 600 grammes in total, priced at about 320,000 patacas.
Ou told the sales assistant that he would go home to get the money and requested that the three pieces be kept for him. Ou returned to the shop at about 1 p.m. and asked the sales assistant to take out the three pieces for him to have another look. After the staff member handed the jewellery to Ou he immediately turned around and ran out of the shop.
The sales assistant immediately chased after him and called for help. Ou was soon intercepted by a PJ clerk who was on his day off and a passer-by who assisted him in subduing the suspect. The PJ clerk saw the three pieces of gold jewellery in Ou’s hands and immediately called the 993 report hotline. PJ and Public Security Police (PSP) officers rushed to the scene to investigate. Ou was taken to a police station by PJ officers for questioning.
Ou confessed to committing the crime and told the police that he had become addicted to gambling in recent years and lost a lot of money while staying in Macau. He owed more than 100,000 patacas to his relatives and friends, according to the statement.
Ou has been transferred to the Public Prosecutions Office (MP), facing an aggravated theft charge.
This handout photo provided by the Judiciary Police (PJ) on Saturday shows the three pieces stolen by the suspect – two gold bracelets and a gold chain.
